However, the Escalator views addiction slightly differently that the traditional disease model. Are you taking examples out of context by only considering one aspect of the situation at the expense of considering the entire incident? Taking your stroller on the escalator can be dangerous for kids. If abstinence is the ideal, then we should never allow the thinking that falling short of the ideal is automatically not good or a definitive failure. Recognizing, understanding and gaining insight into ones behavior and accepting that there is some degree of a problem that needs changing is enough, regardless of what one may try to call it or label it. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. Not only was I developing an increased empathy for those who were not getting the full benefit of the 12 Steps but I was also noticing an increase in the number of young people entering programs who had difficulty with 12 Step recovery. As my career and education in the field of substance abuse progressed I noticed another trend that increasingly caught my attention. However, a commitment to abstinence is not a requirement for all to engage in the upward change process. Our challenges are designed to help people change their relationship with alcohol by shifting mindsets. Research source I found myself growing in my concern for those individuals who disagreed with or had difficulty grasping the 12 Steps and other similar or related concepts. It also hopes to generate healthy discussion on the topic and welcomes diversity of opinion. This article has been viewed 70,994 times. I have been trained in a variety of techniques that over the years and I found myself, like most counselors, breaking down and combining in order to utilize an array of the best principles, skills, techniques and ideas from various methods for the variety of situations and problems faced by people I was trying to help. On the other hand, you might more easily identify a cross addiction when youve swapped one substance for another. In one, there was a man who was covered in soot and holding a massive book, and he went up to this other guy and said, Youre going to die. And then he came up to me, and I said, I dont want to die, I want to stay alive, and he replied, OK, off you go.. towardahigherormoredistinguishedcondition,rank,level, etc. When combined with counseling, this approach is proven highly effective. At Ria, we offer weekly meetings with certified counselors to help members stay on track and build skills for long-term change. Experience: I fell down an escalator | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian Lost - Taking the Escalator therapy activity intro Taking the Escalator 319 subscribers Subscribe Like 928 views 3 months ago Link to activity - https://takingtheescalator.blogspot.c. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The same holds true for those with legitimate pain management issues who may be on medication considered questionable by others in recovery. The notion of a dual diagnosis generally refers to an individual who has two very different and unrelated psychological disorders, such as depression and an alcohol use disorder. What makes a lot more sense is to provide the necessary treatment for people at the level where they enter treatment, based solely on their individual needs. Individuals need to be looked at and treated on a case-by-case basis because circumstances are often so different from person to person. To the contrary, groups when functioning like they are supposed too are the most effective modality for substance abuse treatment for the vast majority of people However, those individuals who do not feel comfortable with groups should not be left out by a method that caters only to groups. The notion that most forms of substance use disorders share some similar brain pathways, such as the reward pathway in the brain that is primarily mediated by the neurotransmitter dopamine, would reinforce the notion of a neurobiological substrate that is responsible for a vulnerability to developing a cross addiction. PDF Challenging Thoughts Worksheet - University of Washington It also can be used as a supplemental method for those who feel that the 12 Steps alone have not been enough for them. Suppose that over the course of the next year, he lost 50 pounds and lowered his cholesterol 25%. Compulsive Behavior: A Psychological Explanation - ThoughtCo Finally I found a charity called Headway East London, which helps people with brain injuries. For some people, attempting controlled use is a life and death issue. While we can choose to add good, healthy habits to our routines, we can also choose to break old harmful habits. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. The Escalator uses the broader, much more wide-ranging concept of Substance Use Issues* for the sake of including people who are considering or attempting change across the entire spectrum. The short term objective at each stage throughout the matrix is to develop increasing levels of insight and motivation, while developing and practicing the skills needed in order to escalate or enhance oneself toward the ultimate goal of Inspired Progress. So if the goal of the Escalator is not limited to just abstinence or sobriety then what is the goal of the upward change process? Cross addiction is a concept that implies that if a person has developed a severe substance use disorder (the term for addiction) to one substance, that person is at a higher risk to develop a substance use disorder to some other substance. Addiction is based on a form of dependence, and as a result, the two words: addiction and dependence have become synonymous ** It is well documented that addiction is growing problem over the years affecting the lives of millions. It was really eye opening for me when I expanded my work with adolescents and young people. Other people may hear of some of the expectations involved with traditional recovery models and consider these goals to be unrealistic, unreasonable or out of reach. Although it has no official "phobia" name, the fear of elevators is relatively common. From early on in my career, I found myself having a soft spot and curiosity toward those troubled individuals who just did not benefit from the 12 Steps no matter hard they may have tried. Nevertheless, the Escalator is also not a method that promises help with or promotes controlled use, because as stated earlier, many people will find out that in their case, controlled use may just not be an option for them. Listen to friends and family like the original addiction; it is common for people with cross addiction to minimize the reality and to make excuses for the behavior. Based on the most recent available research, it appears that the notion that an individual who has completed recovery program for a substance use disorder is at greater risk to develop another substance use disorder is the exception rather than the rule. But over time, you could begin to obsess over exercise, and may even overexercise your body to the point of harm. Lets again consider the rationale for developing this alternative method for recovery and the upward change process but this time we will go back a little farther and consider some personal experience: The Escalator is not an effort to undermine the 12 Steps. When someone ends up staying inspired long enough to maintain the changes, improvement and progress that they made in the upward change process that is the most desirable outcome. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. These types of case study evidence are useful in describing aspects of a broader and empirically validated theoretical concept, but they are the weakest forms of evidence to describe an overall theoretical concept. Just like abstinence with regard to sex is the surest way to avoid consequences associated with sex such as diseases, unwanted pregnancy, etc, complete abstinence from substances is the surest way to avoid substance abuse related consequences such as legal problems, family problems, etc. Help us by submitting your sober resource here >>>, Sober Eastbourne Directory. Here is our guide to giving up (or cutting back) on alcohol. Alcoholism on the other hand is essentially just an addiction to or dependence on alcohol. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Interestingly, there is a commonly accepted contradiction when it comes to abstinence when viewing addiction as a disease. How should I handle the stroller when going down an escalator? Excessive drinking has numerous impacts on your body and mind, ranging from mild to severe. Therefore, it is important not to exclude or discourage abstinence as a part of the goal because for many individuals abstinence is the only viable outcome for them. The invention of the escalator changed everything: suddenly, a constant flow of people could ascend into the air, or descend to . That is what the Escalator is all about. 400+ Curated Sober, Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Apps, Podcasts & Resources. The 12 Steps have been a successful great formula for those people who are able to buy into the process. Longley, Robert. We change with time whether or not we even want too. % of people told us that this article helped them. This new perspective behind the Escalator can be best explained by first expanding upon the way we look at addiction, recovery and sobriety. Starting where you are and moving upward. >An alternative method that is well suited for a broad, wide-ranging perspective on spirituality which can work for the Atheist and Agnostic as well as those with more firmly established beliefs while making sure not to alienate those from either viewpoint. Therefore, the discussion of labels is often irrelevant and unnecessary and in many cases can even be a distraction as opposed to being helpful. Understanding these differences can help in taking appropriate action or seeking treatment. >People who have given the 12 Steps a sincere, honest try but they continue to feel like they just dont fit in because their unique personal situation just is not a good match for the 12 Step methodology, >People who just dont like groups. There are many ways to try to define addiction but they all mean just about the same thing. Why should it be any different for the often fatal disease of addiction? There still are ways to pro-actively address these issues while avoiding confrontation or judgment, yet at the same time avoiding being overly passive and non-directive. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. When I eventually woke up, I could walk, which is fortunate; a lot of people who have had a brain injury have to use a wheelchair to begin with. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/psychology-of-compulsive-behavior-4173631. One way addiction has been defined is: *addiction habitualpsychologicalandphysiologicaldependenceonasubstance orpracticebeyondonesvoluntary control. The concept of recovery makes a lot of sense when considering a traditional view of substance abuse and addiction. Most places have an elevator in addition to the escalator, and it is much easier and safer to manipulate a stroller on an elevator. Is it ethical and reasonable for those who fund treatment to implement a 12 Steps or else policy? PsychCreatives | Taking the Escalator: Comprehensive SUD Resource This is not to say that cross dependence doesnt happen in recovery. Are you drawing conclusions where evidence is lacking? They may resort to: Additionally, some believe that people with alcohol or substance use disorders are prone to cross addictions involving similar substances. The main point of this book is to outline some of those tools and strategies in a constructive and practical manner to help the reader better help others. takingtheescalator.com Addiction and Substance Use Resources, Non 12 Step Motivational Harm Reduction Tools for Substance Use & Mental Health. Longley, Robert. "The Psychology of Compulsive Behavior." Other methods are very much needed for this population. The Escalator is for: >People who are in a situation where they are required to get help but really dont want help. A matrix-based system as opposed to stepwise system, allows the user to select their own entry point into the paradigm based on ones personal needs and circumstances. 1 But many people feel at least a slight nervousness when contemplating a long elevator . I dont think about my future, I focus on each day as I live it. Consider another example: If there was a fatal disease that had an available course of treatment that could cure two thirds of those inflicted with the disease, would it be fair to cast off the other third who did not respond to the accepted treatment as hopeless? Sobriety basically consists of two main aspects; change + abstinence. The person who tried to build the house then gives up. Lift the front wheels over the comb-plate when exiting. In addition, as time has progressed, this 12 Step resistant population has been on the rise similar to an antibiotic-resistant infection. For example, when looking at someone with substance use issues who has been using regularly since age 12 or 13, what former state of improved functioning would they in fact be recovering once they stopped using? Furthermore, just like with other medical conditions, a person may never manifest all of the symptoms of a disease yet they still may benefit from some form of recovery program. The person does the best that they can to buy the tools to build the house and then try to use these tools for the actual construction of the house. A compulsion is different from an addiction. But in the hospital they discovered a blood clot on my brain and operated that evening; they also put in a metal plate to stop my skull collapsing. The other accidents happened when the kid was riding the escalator outside of the stroller. Also, make sure you step over the comb-plate when entering. The notion of an increase in the vulnerability to develop another form of substance use disorder following recovering from a different substance use disorder seems to have some relevance in terms of common sense reasoning. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. This often happens after a person has quit one substance, and is looking for new ways to cope. In the case where someone is doing well in life then a substance abuse problem comes along and takes everything away, then it only makes sense that recovery is the process by which that person heals, gets better and then regains back all that they lost. Labels in themselves are not wrong or harmful. 7. The Escalator takes into account changes in technology and developments with regard to how we communicate and obtain information. Now compare a similar situation with a 20 bag day IV heroin addict. Is it fair that those individuals, simply by reason of their not fitting in to the most accepted recovery method be incarcerated just the program did not work for them (or if they were unwilling to work the 12 Step program?). Now suppose, in this example, that after a few weeks the house is built so clumsily that it does not pass inspection and cannot be lived in. 1 Such addictions may extend well beyond alcohol and other substances of abuse, including compulsive behaviors such as hair pulling, skin picking, gambling and excessive shopping are also addictions. On the other hand, people with addictions are often unaware of or unconcerned about the negative consequences of their actions. Until that day when (and if) someone ever invents a pill or an operation that somehow removes substance use issues without change, then change will always still be needed in order to get better. Everyone has some kind of story where they were on a path in a direction that was not working for them and they were able to somehow turn it around and get moving in the right direction. [1] Suppose this heroin addicted person entered treatment and over time reduced his heroin use to snorting 10 bags per day. Quitting alcohol completely can be a challenge, but there are more ways to do it than ever before. The first weakness of this study is that the study only covered a three-year period. I think I was an alcoholic because of my past: my parents broke up and mum left when I was five years old, and my brother fell out of a window and died when I was 17. I used to be a big drinker thats why I tripped over. Should someone who uses heroin be treated exactly the same as someone who smokes marijuana? . For instance, exercise may have helped calm your anxiety early in recovery. This could lead someone who quits drinking to crave sweets, and develop sugar addiction. >A variable, adjustable, and flexible process of upward change that takes into account your own needs beyond just substance use including emotional and behavioral issues, struggles with mental health, as well as the broad array of co-existing issues that may effect each unique person. Are you confusing a low probability with a high probability? Nonetheless, individuals in recovery should remain vigilant and follow the treatment regime of their aftercare program in order to ensure that they enjoy continued success and abstinence. AdCare Hospital Outpatient - Multiple Cities, AdCare Rhode Island Outpatient - Multiple Cities, Resolutions Recovery Residences - Multiple Cities, The editorial staff of American Addiction Centers is made up of credentialed clinical reviewers with hands-on experience in or expert knowledge of ad , Understanding Addiction: Research Studies, State-Funded Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers, trained clinicians are known to have significant issues with cognitive biases, Journal of American Medical Association Psychiatry, risk to develop another substance use disorder, Signs Youve Hit Rock Bottom in Your Addiction & What To Do, Substance Abuse Among Police & Law Enforcement, Holistic Addiction Treatment Programs & Rehab Centers Near Me, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for Rehab Guide, Fentanyl Addiction Hotline: 24/7 Fentanyl Abuse Helpline, Family Rehab Programs: Going to Rehab When You Have Children. Some believe that a drug is a drug is a drug, and that if youre in recovery from anything, you should avoid everything. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs. Hold on to the stroller. Labels can help someone gain insight and understanding into the nature of a substance abuse problem. Compulsive behaviors are actions a person feels driven or compelled to do repeatedly, even if those actions appear to be irrational or pointless. Cross addiction is a concept that implies that if a person has developed a severe substance use disorder (the term for addiction) to one substance, that person is at a higher risk to develop a substance use disorder to some other substance. People with active substance use disorders were about two times more likely to develop another substance use problem (27%) compared to individuals who substance use disorder was in remission (13%). As stated earlier, it is more often than not the best decision but it is not the only one, at least in the beginning. Last Updated: March 4, 2021 What do cross addiction and cross dependence mean? If I weighed something, I couldnt read out the numbers. Even if the now 350 pound man is still considered morbidly obese with a cholesterol level twice the acceptable limit, his doctor and family likely would still embrace his progress in a positive encouraging way with the hope he will continue in that positive direction. The Escalator promotes abstinence as the ideal way to stay out of trouble and then make progress and positive change but at the same time this method acknowledges that people have different paths toward their goals that are not all abstinence based. Understanding Sexual Orientation From a Psychological Perspective. These concepts are very real and there are millions of stories of alcoholism, addiction and dependency that prove that these issues exist on a large scale in todays world. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Since addiction is a disease affecting the reward pathways in the brain, this theoretically makes sense. Taking the Escalator needs you - Click here to see how you can support - (It won't cost you a cent), Finally a New Way to Combat the Opioid Epidemic, Alternative Counseling & Recovery Coaching Tools. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. But when I tried working again after my accident, I couldnt even tell customers the names of the fish. Longley, Robert. Alicia is a Minnesota-based freelancer who writes for Ria Health and various other brands in the health and wellness space. This example has a direct parallel when it comes to substance use issues. Inspiration is like the fuel that powers our engine that gets us moving toward our eventual destination and our desired goal. How to Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible. Therefore even when someone does not achieve the ideal outcome (sobriety) any attempt at upward change is still valuable and often brings with it a degree of progress. Treatment is for the sick, not the well. 10. He has conducted research in sound, cognition, and community building, has a background in independent music marketing, and continues to work as a composer. As a small thank you, wed like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). The habit of having a glass of beer with dinner, for example, becomes an addiction when the desire to drink turns into a physical or emotional need to drink. When someone is abstinent, they are not using. I remember being at a meeting of supervisors of treatment programs in my area and one program manager said At my program, the policy is: Two positive urines and you are discharged! I remember questioning myself quietly how someone could put an arbitrary number on something as complicated as relapse when substance use issues and recovery issues vary such a great deal from person to person. 1. Still, the same issue comes up for those who fail to adopt the 12 Step methodology. In reality, if that were the case, someone else would be hard at work looking for another course of treatment for the one third of people who do not respond to the most widely accepted method. I went to rehab, which probably helped, but I still couldnt talk properly; I just couldnt find the right words. Instead focus on behavior change which will influence better decisions in the present and future. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. *SUDs The use of the term Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) is also accepted and in use in literature. This icebreaker gives people in the group a chance to make a statement and get some encouragement. Taking the Escalator is an easy to understand method developing the inspiration to overcome the struggle with managing addictions. (For example, 12 Step groups have come a long way with regard to accepting mental health issues and issues such as medication however there are many people with mental health issues who still feel like they can not fit in due to their coexisting issues). Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. Lets take a look at abstinence: Simply put when it comes to substance use issues, abstinence is an absence of any substance use at all. Better outcomes means having to pay out less for treatment and 12 Step meetings are free. However, the Escalator accepts people exactly where they are at and uses the principle some change is better than no change .Therefore if the only thing that someone is willing to do is reduce their use for now, then it is better to start from there than do nothing at all. Awareness: People with obsessive-compulsive disorders are typically aware of their behaviors and are bothered by the knowledge that they have no logical reason for doing them. The Psychology of Compulsive Behavior. Research supporting the notion of cross addiction is actually relatively rare. There is something to be gained each time anyone attempts the process of upward change. In other words, abstinence is the direction toward which the Escalator guides people but abstinence is not an automatic requirement to work within the Escalator, especially early in the process. One drug is clearly much more harmful than the other. The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding. *Do not be mislead by this statement: For many abstinence is the only way, but not everyone is ready to embrace that possibility, especially early in the process. I hope she will have a good and happy life. When one is taught the disease model of addiction, one of the most powerful illustrations is the comparison of addiction to a widely accepted disease like cancer. The Escalator therefore defines the process by which someone gets better, improves, and develops healthy skills for managing their issues as The Upward Change Process, In sticking with the analogy of an escalator, moving us upward is what an escalator is often designed to do.